Philippine President #RodrigoDuterte announced his retirement from politics which came as quite a surprise to many folks thought he would pull a "Putin" and run for VP to circumvent the constitutional limit of a single six-year Presidential term. His withdrawal paves the way for a possible presidential run by his daughter, Sara Duterte, mayor of Davao city, who has topped independent public opinion surveys on who should lead the country next.
Earlier blog Asia-in-2018
Oct 6, 2021
Bongbong Marcos, whose father Ferdinand was chased from office in a revolt in 1986 and died in exile in Hawaii three years later, is running for President in PI.
Nov 3, 2021
India’s Defense Ministry ran a successful test launch of the Agni-5, the country’s longest-range missile, which is capable of reaching Beijing, China, It appears the June 2020 bloody Himalayan clash hasn't been forgotten.
Nov 26, 2021
Riots in the Solomon Islands over a switch of allegiance from Taiwan to China that occurred two years ago. A bipartisan delegation from the US House of Representatives visited Taiwan this week.
Possible boycott of the Beijing Olympics looming. Can any of this make a dent in the power of Communist China?
Dec 22, 2021
The citizens of Taiwan don't want to be the next Hong Kong. Yesterday they backed the DPP, the ruling party, on four referendum questions and rejected the Nationalist Party which wants closer ties with Communist China. Let's hope Biden is paying attention and stops his habit of forgetting our friends.
Jan 25, 2022
Who needs guns?
Two gangs from rival ethnic groups in the province of West Papua used machetes, arrows, and Molotov cocktails to settle a quarrel. The fighting sparked a fire killing 12 in a nightclub.
Feb 5, 2022
Mynamar(Burma), military junta will likely repress its country despite how bad things get and resemble a non -nuclear version of North Korea. Child begging at traffic lights has proliferated to the level that drivers are afraid to stop at traffic lights.
Feb 25, 2022
Filipino police said about 1,100 protesters gathered on the same Manila highway where millions assembled 36 years ago to end the Ferdinand Marcos' dictatorship. They had a clever chant
"Bring back the loot, not the thief" and held a banner "No to Marcos/Duterte2022" asking voters to not elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
March 17, 2022
A Japanese maritime patrol detected Russian amphibious warfare ships, which can carry dozens of tanks, other military vehicles, and hundreds of troops, and monitored them as they passed west from the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan through the narrow Tsuruga Strait. Possible destination Europe!
April 11, 2022
Brain-drain continues in Hong Kong . Executives continue to depart while admission rates in several international schools have tumbled. The European Chamber of Commerce's latest survey showed that nearly half of the businesses were considering moving elsewhere next year.
Many market traders are moving to Singapore which is pushing up residential rental costs there.
April 15, 2022
Philippine President Duterte vetoed a bill that would require social media users to register their legal identities and phone numbers. For now, so much for all those who say Duterte is a dictator.
April 23, 2022
Hong Kong will allow international travelers for first time since 2020.
Ok, hurry up and visit! Keep your mouth shut and restrain yourself online, and you may be able to leave without being imprisoned.
May 3, 2022
Cambodia's PM Hun Sen urged Myanmar's top general to allow a special Southeast Asian envoy access to ousted and imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
May 10, 2022
Thank you, President Reagan : Biden's State Dept has not backed off the Six Reagan-era security assurances(1982) given to Taiwan, which the United States declassified in 2020. Two key items:
USA has not set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan, nor agreed to prior consultation with Beijing on such sales.
June 7, 2022
For anyone who has followed Japan's defense spending post WW2, this is a remarkable step. In an annual economic policy document Japan for the first time mentioned a time frame of five years for a large defense expenditure increase and a concern about threats faced by Taiwan.
June 21, 2022
I had to re-read this a few times. Protesters stormed a stadium in Maldives where more than 150 people were taking part in an event celebrating International Day of Yoga, They brandished placards proclaiming that yoga was against the tenets of Islam.
Islam is the state religion in the Maldives, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean.
July 8, 2022
Tetsuya Yamagami told police he was dissatisfied with Shinzo Abe, a former PM of Japan, and wanted to kill him. He accomplished that using a home-made gun while Abe was campaigning for a seat in Parliament. Japan has some of the strictest gun laws in the world.
July 18, 2022
Biden "handed" Afghanistan to the Taliban in August, 2021 and girls above the sixth grade have yet to enter a classroom again. Not a word from AOC or Pelosi!
Aug 13, 2022
While Nepal tries to maintain diplomatic neutrality and /or remain non-aligned, its nationals are allowed to be recruited into the armed forces of India and the United Kingdom.
Sept 9, 2022
U.S. Army's Pacific commander, General Charles Flynn, said he is in no rush to withdraw rocket launchers and other equipment from the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force base on Amami Oshima at the edge of the East China Sea. It will remain there until the next joint drills. I'm sure the Commies in Peking ain't smiling.
Dec 19, 2022
Hostage talks start after Pakistani Taliban militants seize interrogators and demand safe passage to Afghanistan. Let's go Brandon!
Dec 21, 2022
The Taliban released two Americans detained in Afghanistan on the same day its officials banned Afghan women from attending universities.
Dec 22, 2022
Nepal is set to release Sobhraj, the Serpent, who began traveled the world in the early 1970s, befriending, robbing, and killing young backpackers as he made his way along the Hippie Trail from Europe to Southeast Asia. In prison in 2008, he married Nihita Biswas, who is 44 years his junior and the daughter of his Nepalese lawyer. His health is shaky, but I wonder if other countries will pursue charges against him.
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